Jay struggles in third straight loss (01/15/07)

Despite ending in defeats, Jay County's previous two games showed the team's talent. It pushed Class 3A No. 3 New Castle (15-2) and Huntington North (11-4), a team it has lost to by an average of nearly 19 points over the previous five seasons, to their limits.

The Patriot girls basketball team looked every bit like an upper echelon team as it ran out to an 8-0 lead Saturday, but did not sustain the effort. It gave up a 13-2 run bridging the halftime break and was outscored 15-4 in the fourth quarter of a 43-33 loss to the Connersville Spartans.

It marked the fourth loss in the last five games for Jay County (9-5, 2-1 Olympic Athletic Conference), which had 27 turnovers, after an 8-1 start to the season.

"We've got to to take better care of the ball," said Comer, whose team lost six of eight, including four straight, during a similar stretch last season before coming on late to win the sectional title. "When you've got veteran guards like this, you shouldn't have that many turnovers. We're not playing anywhere, right now, up to our capability. And I don't know what the reasons are. We've got to find the right combinations that will work best together, and we will.

"This is a veteran team, and this is a game that we definitely let get away."

The win put Connersville in the driver's seat for the championship in the four-team OAC. It is 2-0 in the conference and will face Muncie Southside (7-9) in its season finale Feb. 3.

"More than anything, I'm happy about the effort. ... We knew the game was about the conference championship," said Connersville coach Michael Thompson. "I thought it was going to be who wanted it more. And I said, "yes, shooting and execution and all that is going to come into it, but who really wants to win this game I think is going to be the one who pulls it out.' So I'm proud of the effort they gave. I think that shows up in the 33 points."

After senior Whitney Homan led the way to the early lead by hitting three first-quarter 3-pointers, the Patriot offense fizzled. A Kaelee Keller drive to the hoop still had them up 17-9 in the second quarter, but they failed to score for the remaining 3:05 of the opening half as Connersville finished on a 5-0 run.

The Spartans (10-6) added an 8-2 run to open the second half.

Jay County got going from long distance again as Sara Garringer hit a couple of 3-pointers, helping the home team to a 29-28 lead after three periods. But the Patriots, who hit for just 21 percent from the field in Tuesday's overtime loss to Huntington North, went just 2-of-14 (14 percent) from the field in the fourth quarter and failed to score in the last four minutes.

Taylor Isaacs made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:06 to finish off the Spartan victory.

"(Isaacs) did a very good job," said Thompson of the junior, who totaled eight points and nine rebounds. "(Lindsey) Wellman is going to be a very good player, and I thought Taylor did a very good job on her. ... Taylor did a great job of rebounding, and for her to hit those free throws there at the end, that really iced it."

Jay County had just one foul shot in the game compared to a 13-of-22 effort for Connersville. They were also just 14-of-49 (29 percent) from the field, including 5-of-23 (22 percent) from 3-point range, and struggled mightily on the offensive end when the long balls were not falling.

"We're a 3-point shooting team, so you've got to shoot 3-pointers. But at the same time, you can't be a one-dimensional team," said Comer. "We've got to go inside to get the threes. You can't just pass the ball around the outside and expect to get good looks. That's what we were trying to do, and that doesn't work, as we saw.

"You've got to get the ball in a position where you can get to the free-throw line. We decided to do that, but it took a time-out to get the ball going inside again. And then when we did we were one-dimensional and they were double- and triple-teaming Lindsey inside. We weren't looking at what the defense was giving us."

While Laura Richards (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Amanda McDivitt (13 points) each scored in double for the Spartans, Homan's 11 points were the team-high for Jay County. The senior guard added five boards.

Wellman followed with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Garringer scored six. Nicole Pfeifer and Wellman grabbed seven rebounds apiece, and Garringer had six assists.

Junior varsity

Connersville scored just before the buzzer, but the shot wasn't enough as the Patriots held on for a 24-23 victory.

The Spartans trailed by three in the final 30 seconds and worked for a 3-point shot. However Claire Blakley was off the mark from long distance and although Hannah Gobin's put-back was good, it came with just three seconds on the clock and time expired.

Brittany Mann led the Jay County victory with seven points. Amber Edmundson added six points, and Sarah Westgerdes chipped in four. Kendra Rusterholz scored a game-high eight points for Connersville, and Gobin finished with six.

Freshman

The teams were tied at 18 with four minutes to play, but Jay County managed just two points the rest of the way in a 22-20 defeat at the hands of the Spartans.

Cassie Bennett scored nine points to lead Connersville, which had its best effort in the fourth quarter (seven points). Sylvia Rose added six points.

Shelby Gierhart carried the load for the Patriots with 10 points and seven rebounds, both team highs.

Brittany Muhlenkamp and Kayla Phillips added four points apiece.[[In-content Ad]]